Questions tagged [subject-complement]
The subject-complement tag has no usage guidance.
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Can adverbs act as subject complements?
Example:
He is here.
Or
She is there.
I have been taught that subject complements are adjectives, nouns, pronouns or phrases of them, but in the above example the adverb 'here' is describing the ...
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That is I vs That is me
I understand that after a linking verb, the noun should be in subject case. So why do we say "that is me" instead of "that is I" ? Is the former grammatically accurate?
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Is this sentence in line with pronoun of complement subject?
I read online that subject pronoun are used for subject complement. As such, is the following sentence correct? "He seems to be I" or should it end with object case? And why?
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Is 'skeptical' an adverbial accusative in this sentence?
I understand 'good' is an adverb meaning 'well' in this example sentence of 'start out' in the Merriam-Webster dictionary :
The story started out good, but I didn't like the ending.
But I think '...
user157844
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methods of parsing passive voice
The show was watched by five million people.
Am I right there are two approaches to parsing this sentence?:
first approach:
"Was watched" is a verb.
The verb "was watched" is ...
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Can a subject and its complement be of different numbers?
Can a subject and a subject complement be of different numbers, i.e. one of them is plural and the other is singular?
To check this, I came up with some examples
(where, as I understand, "are&...
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Role of like in copular/linking verbs
I'm struggling to make some distinctions regarding copular, or linking, verbs.
She sounds like a lawyer.
She has become like her mother.
She looks like a princess.
#1: Is "sounds" an ...
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'He walked off embarrassed and sad'
He walked off embarrassed and sad. (I can't remember where I found this sentence as I then just noted it without citing the source to ask later).
'Embarrassed' and 'sad' are functioning as Subjective ...
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What is a noun clause?
That was she woke up in the middle of the night.
Is the clause [she woke up in the middle of the night] a noun clause?
Thank you.
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It would be excellent experience for him
It would be excellent experience for him to travel a little.
Clytemnestra is a pretentious name for a dog.
(Reference: dictionary examples)
I wonder if excellent experience for him is a noun phrase ...
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“The town is (located) 20km southeast of city X” [closed]
The town is (located) 20 km southeast of city X
Is southeast an adjective being modified by of city X (an adverb phrase) and having 20 km (an adverb) modifying it?
Or is 20km an adjective modifying ...
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Is the type of subject complement a predicate nominative?
Is this subject complement a predicate nominative or predicate adjective?
At the park is where she grabbed my attention.
Note: At the park is a prepositional phrase that functions as a subject.
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Is the past participle a linking verb in these examples of passive constructions?
A man called Jack opened the door.
The man was called Jack.
In these two examples, 'called' is a past-participle, and the proper noun 'Jack' is a subject complement that renames the noun 'man'.
This ...
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SVC sentence structure confusion [closed]
I have read about SVC sentences like "we all feel sorry for him".
Can I also write: The trunk wrinkled old and dry.
As wrinkle is not a linking verb so is it incorrect? Is there any other ...
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"Experts say they are concerned" - sentence breakdown
I am trying to deconstruct the following sentence:
Experts say they are concerned
Experts = subject
say = verb
they are concerned = object
Experts say what? gives you the object: they are concerned
...
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How do you identify the grammatical construction of these sentences?
Robby is so perplexed not being told about the accident.
Maudy always gets nervous when talking to strangers.
Both sentences have a predicative adjective as a subject complement. My confusion is ...
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Which is better in this context – AdjP or NP as a subject complement?
When I need to describe myself (for instance in a letter to a potential employer or the like), should I use a NP headed by "person" as a subject complement, or just an AdjP? That is, which ...
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Is the subject complement a noun or an adjective here?
It's well-known that a subject complement can be a noun or an adjective. It's not hard to make out what part of speech the subject complement belongs to— For example, in He is a pilot and She is ...
user126190
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a Northern Inuit dog, which is a breed with a wolf-like appearance
Consider the following pairs of sentence. The members of each pair differ in the order of a specific term and an explanation of its meaning.
a. John bought a Northern Inuit dog, which is a breed with ...
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Subject and complement
Is it correct to have a singular complement (if the complement is a noun) when the subject is plural?
For example:
These are a cheap source of entertainment.
Similarly, is it correct to have a plural ...
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What is out there in the sentence what is it like out there where they glow?
This is a quote from a song in the animated movie Tangled. I find translating this kind of sentence especially difficult:
(A) What is it like out there where they glow?
She is looking through the ...
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"than compared to" or "than that of" in comparative?
I got stuck by the following sentence, which can be found here:
If we generate the column proportions, we can see that a higher fraction of plain text emails are spam(209/1195 = 17.5%) than compared ...
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Is "there" a subject?
A clause usually has a subject and a verb. For example, in this sentence,
"Joe loves baseball".
"Joe" is the subject, "loves" is the verb.
How about "there is"?
There's someone on the phone ...
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What kind of modifier are the two words “allurement and fulfillment” in the following extracted sentence?
It is a challenge and a wonder, an allurement and a fulfillment, which man can never escape but has to encounter.
What type of modifier are these two words?
Are they referring back to the pronoun ...
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subject complement with infinitive
This is a sentence in my grammar book.
He was asked to write the letter.
In the book it says :
He = subject , was asked to write the letter = subject complement.
The verb ask is a catenative verb....
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What "the thing" refer to in this context
“You've got to take the rest of your potion. Harry,” Mrs. Weasley said at last. Her hand nudged the sack of gold on his bedside cabinet as she reached for the bottle and the goblet. “You have a good ...
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subject vs subject-complement; inversion
Oxford Guide to English Grammar; John Eastwood; Oxford University Press 1994-09
Page 56
We can also sometimes put a complement in front position.
They enjoyed the holiday. Best of all was the ...
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Subject complement "Noun phrase + Be + (to) bare infinitive"
Is it right to use a bare infinitive as a subject complement as in the following quote?
"Its true purpose is convince shoppers that your product is the preferred choice"
Another example:
"Their ...
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subject in "participle phrase"
The quality of products can improve by using robots.
In this sentence, what is the subject of "using"?
I think it should rephrase
The quality of products can be improved by using robots.
Or
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Can we use an adjective to modify a verb?
'A confident person speaks a little stronger, stands a little taller, and looks a little bolder'.
I read the sentence in the book Instant Voice Training.
In this sentencen, both the verb speaks and ...
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What is the subject of this sentence to which the complement is related?
In this sentence, what is the subject to which the subject-complement is referring to?
This instruction provides the rules for sharing information originated by the Purchasing Department.
Are we ...
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I finished before he/him
I finished before he
I finished before him
In formal language, do we use the subject or object pronoun after before or after?
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Prepositional complement (two - part question)
In grammar, a subject complement follows a copular and describes the subject of a clause. Although nouns, pronouns and noun phrases most frequently perform the function, prepositional phrases can also ...
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Is the bold phrase an object complement?
I read the following paragraph from a book and I want to confirm whether the bold phrase is an object complement or a subject complement?
Then The New York Times wrote an absolute rave review of ...
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Which of these sentences is correct: "Our topic for today is games." or "Our topic for today is about games."?
Which one is correct?
Our topic for today is games.
Our topic for today is about games.
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Why do we use subject pronouns in place of object pronouns?
Source
Don't blame Gerard. It was I who woke you from a sound sleep.
Don't get mad at me! I didn't pull your ponytail! It was he.
Remember the amazing guitarist I met? This is she.
How ...
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Singular or plural verb when subject is plural but subject complement is single?
Should the verb be singular or plural in this sentence: "The 1830s were a time" versus "The 1830s was a time"?
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Copula? Copula and Noun? I Feel Anger, I Feel Angry?
I feel anger.
I feel angry.
I’ve read some things about copulas. I don’t think I get meaning of adjective use after a copula. I don’t think I get how one can feel angry. I don’t think angry ...
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How "long gone" can be used in a sentence
"Long gone" is a phrase which means "gone a long time ago; used up a long time ago" according to this link.
The following sentences are some samples of its usage:
The ice cream and cake are long ...
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Relative Pronoun - Whom / Why is "Whom" used in this sentence?
If all these excuses are not enough, then I want to dedicate this book to the child whom this grown-up once was.
This sentence is a part of the dedication of The Little Prince.
As I know, relative ...
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is "which" a complement in "which she wanted to be"?
Her sister has become a lawyer, which she wanted to be.
In the relative clause, "which she wanted to be", "which" serves as a complement.
Is my understanding right?
Thank you very much!
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